Energy conservation has become a primary concern, and there will always be a need to improve energy efficiency. One problem area where improvement is needed is in home electronics. Today, many devices unnecessarily consume energy by drawing electric current from a wall socket even when not in use. Conventional solutions to this problem include turning off and/or unplugging each and every device in the home, but that is time consuming, inefficient, and often overlooked. Another conventional solution is to plug multiple devices into a power strip and turn off the strip when not in use. Some smart power strips draw less current (and are therefore likely to be in a powered down state), and can turn themselves off. But turning off an entire power strip is not always desirable, either, since not all devices are in the same powered down state.
Accordingly, there remains the ever-present need for improved energy efficiency.